Stage Two Announces New Client Orbotix

Stage Two is always on the lookout for cool technologies and cutting edge innovations. Our friends at Foundry Group (one of the best VC firms that truly understands consumer electronics) introduced us to Orbotix and we are thrilled to announce them as a new client.

Orbotix “works with consumer electronics companies and developers to bring phone controlled open devices to market” and is currently in private alpha. The company has developed some amazing consumer tech and is dedicated to open solutions for mobile app developers.

Led by CEO Paul Berberian and founded by Ian Bernstein and Adam Wilson, Orbotix is deeply involved in maker culture. The Colorado company has been written up in Wired, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Fast Company and other media outlets.

Stage Two is proud to be working with such a smart group of geeks dedicated professionals who are innovating the consumer electronics space.

The scope of work is still under wraps for now, but stay tuned for future announcements from this exciting partner.

All aspects of convergence, be they tv/internet or gadget/phone are going to be exciting for years to come. It thrills us to yet again be involved in this growing, awesome consumer electronics space.

You can read the Orbotix blog here.

Follow them on twitter @Orbotix

Stage Two’s Marie Domingo Attends Spuler Media Ethics Symposium

Recently, Stage Two’s Vice President of Public Relations Marie Domingo spoke on a panel at the 3rd Annual Spuler Media Ethics Symposium. The event, held at San Jose State University, covered Social Media and PR Ethics and also included Q and A from audience members. Other panel speakers included Jonathan Hirshon, Shel Holtz and Ellen Leanse.

PR and Journalism students mainly attended the function where industry veterans discussed honesty, transparency and social media ethics. The panel spoke candidly about their careers in PR and brought up some of the more difficult decisions they have had to make in the past.

Marie Domingo Knows Media Ethics

Marie Domingo stressed the need for honesty and transparency in all interactions for PR professionals.

“Sometimes clients will ask you to do things that you may not agree with,” she said after the panel discussion. “Trust your instincts. Ask for guidance if you feel conflicted. As you work your way up the ladder there will be critical decisions at times.”

Domingo also highlighted personal integrity: “Ethics is a personal thing. When it comes to PR, it is what separates you from the others in the pack. Having integrity is good for business and your own career. It is how you build your reputation. Be honest about who your clients are and who you are. Online and off.”

One of the thornier questions that came up was if the ends ever justified the means. Domingo mentioned Greenpeace and PETA as examples of companies who wanted to do good but sometimes engaged in questionable acts to achieve noble goals.

She also spoke to building a personal and corporate reputation through a solid work ethic and top tier client list.

“There will always be bad apples in this industry,” Domingo said. “There will be bad companies and unethical PR firms. The key to building a reputation for excellence in tech PR is to only work with the best and the brightest. It’s a cliche, but good companies shouldn’t work with shady Media Relations Outfits and good PR agencies should strive to work with reputable clients. It makes a difference. Word will get out if you lay down with spammy folks.”

When Social Media came up, she was quick to point out the need for honesty online. “There is sometimes a tendency to game the system. Especially on the internet when people can comment and post links anonymously. Stating what your interests are when posting is key. The internet is smart. You can’t trick it. Keeping your conduct above reproach is more effective in the long run, anyway.”

Stage Two is committed to ethical Public Relations and Social Media Outreach. We are pleased to have Marie leading all of our PR efforts in an honest and transparent manner.

Client News: Walmart Toy Story 3 Disc Purchase Includes Vudu Download

Stage Two is pleased to announce some amazing client news. Now when people purchase a physical copy of Disney Pixar’s Toy Story 3 on DVD or Blu-Ray at Walmart, they will also get a digital copy of the film via the VUDU streaming movie service. The animated feature is the “first major movie to offer free HD streaming as part of the purchase price.”

By offering liquid and hard copies of the blockbuster film for one price, Walmart and Vudu position themselves as leaders in the connected home entertainment space this holiday season.

The move- announced today- has already been covered in major media outlets including:

PaidContent

New TeeVee

PC Magazine

CNET

SlashGear

UberGizmo

VentureBeat

Home Media Magazine

Stage Two works at the leading edge of smart media and is happy to count Vudu and its streaming movie service as one of our clients. As content delivery continues to evolve in the coming months, coupling physical and digital copies of media will become more common. 

Client News: VUDU Streaming to PC, Mac and Boxee Box

Stage Two loves working with clients who are pushing boundaries and making moves in the digital home, so we were very excited today when VUDU announced its availability on the Boxee platform and D-Link’s Boxee Box coming this November.

VUDU users can download Boxee’s free media center software to access VUDU’s massive SD movie collection on PC or Mac. This means you can literally watch VUDU streaming when you want, where you want and it is the first time you can access VUDU without buying a new device.

On the upcoming D-Link Boxee Box, VUDU will offer the full HD and HDX library in 1080p with Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound. Over 3,000 HD flicks are available in VUDU’s library so go ahead and plan that epic movie marathon night for next month.

Read about it more on VUDU and Boxee official blog posts.

We’ve nabbed some great coverage today on this announcement – we will keep updating the list as the day goes on:

CNET

CrunchGear

Engadget

Fierce Online Video

Fortune

Gizmodo

New TeeVee

Paid Content

PC Mag

PC World

Venture Beat

Read Write Web

Technologizer

Ubergizmo

Yahoo! Tech

Meme of the Month: Surprised Kitty

Meme rule: The material that is created in response to the meme source material is far more awesome than the original meme.

At Stage Two, we love cute cat pictures and videos as much as the next group of consumer tech experts but, this month, one little critter warmed our cold, electronic hearts even more than watching the SF Giants beat the odds to go to the World Series. Allow us to introduce you to “Surprised Kitty”:

Now, as we said, Surprised Kitty not only unleashed its excessive cuteness on the world, but it also inspired some awesome copy”cats” (ahem…). First, check out what happens when you try to surprise a dog.

And, finally, here’s what happens when you surprise Lord Vader.

Stage Two Announces Ultimate Blogger Lounge

Stage Two is pleased to announce an exciting new venture – The Ultimate Blogger Lounge.

The UBL is an exclusive San Francisco media lounge opening in early 2011 that is a permanent refuge for tech journalists, credentialed press, analysts, bloggers, podcasters and social media gurus.

The inspiration for the Ultimate Blogger Lounge comes from the Bloghaus, a blogging suite that debuted at CES in 2007. Sponsored by Seagate and hosted by PodTech, Bloghaus billed itself as:

A place for bloggers, podcasters, video bloggers, and other online media creators to meet, have some food, relax, and share the day’s news at the Consumer Electronics Show.

We observed firsthand how bloggers and journalists at the CES Bloghaus utilized and appreciated the dedicated workspace. They took advantage of the free Internet, complimentary refreshments and comfortable surroundings to work, play and connect. From the beginning it was clear that a dedicated media lounge could attract attention, sponsors and journalists.

The CES Bloghaus

The tech event culture of San Francisco demands a permanent location for media members to interact with new consumer electronics and each other. To share best practices and horror stories. To have a beer, hold a meeting or file a story.

San Francisco is the cultural hub of the tech world and thousands of journalists attend media functions, conferences and social meetups here every year. San Francisco is where innovation happens. Just as new media personalities flocked to the Bloghaus at CES, we are confident that working press will utilize the UBL’s state of the art features on a daily basis.

We are excited to have early support from many notable industry leaders. Currently Robert Scoble, Brian Solis, Chris Heuer, Ben Parr and Jim Louderback are all UBL Advisory Board members. Stage Two executives Marie Domingo and Jeremy Toeman are also involved in guiding the launch of this high tech space.We look forward to working with these leading minds as we build the Ultimate Blogger Lounge.

Finally, a note on why we are doing this.

Stage Two is intimately linked with Bay Area tech press. We started the UBL to give something back to the bloggers, reporters and socialcasters who spend their lives sharing new technologies with others. We know how hard it is to work in this space. Our friends and family members do it every day. Journalists increasingly face diminishing resources and increasing demands in their profession. They file stories from coffee houses or from their cars; they stay plugged in 24/7 because they care about the technology industry and they care keeping the public informed. Stage Two wants to increase the resources available to journalists and bloggers and foster a sense of community within the press corps while doing so.

We believe that the UBL is an opportunity to give the press a facility with premium working conditions – very high speed Internet, private conference rooms, teleconference facilities, refreshments, etc. This is also an opportunity for leading tech companies to connect with leading journalists and social influencers. We are thrilled to announce the Ultimate Blogger Lounge.

You can follow the digital press club @sfubl and request press credentials by emailing credentials@ultimatebloggerlounge.com

Secrets of Apple Media Events Revealed (column)

Stage Two Founding Partner Jeremy Toeman now has a recurring Cult of Mac column.  The focus will be the theme of “Apple’s Secrets” in which he contends effectively that there really aren’t any secrets.  As we’ve said many times, Apple plays their own game, and they play it very well.  From concept through development through launch through use, Apple’s products have the kind of thoroughness we love to see.

Here’s an excerpt from the full post:

This Wednesday, Apple holds a media event in Cupertino entitled “Back To The Mac.” As soon as they sent out the invitations, the internet started frothing with rumors. What will OS X 10.7 look like? Will there be a new MacBook Air? Will my iPad finally make coffee? The list of apple rumors is tremendous. Vegas odds makers are even taking bets on what Apple will unveil during the announcement.

Read the rest at Cult of Mac!

Stage Two Code of Ethics

We recently published The Stage Two Code of Ethics on our website and wanted to add this meaningful content to our blog, as well.

Integrity Matters.

Stage Two believes that great product experiences, great messaging / positioning and great PR come from speaking authentically, not shrieking hyperbolically. We make our living building and promoting great consumer technologies and we believe deeply in integrity.

The first step in building great PR and Marketing strategies is working with exceptional clients whose work you can stand behind.

A great product must be great, not just be well-hyped. Whether it is a web service, smart app, gadget or set top box, products must perform as advertised. They must play fair and not cut corners. A great piece of new technology is honest at all times: from the development stage to product launch and beyond. Stage Two is lucky enough to get to work with products we believe in.

Stage Two’s integrity informs our UI/UX methodology.

We assume that you have friends and family around to tell you what a good job you are doing. Our role is different. If a product needs work, we say so. We play fair and call things like we see them. At the end of the day, Stage Two makes its mark on the tech world through our work, our opinions and our results. You can’t write us a big enough check to give a “thumbs up” to sub par product design (of the many things we do, we do not have a service called “cheerleading”). It’s not in our corporate culture to do so and it’s not in your best interests. Even if you have an internal design team that says everything is great, Stage Two can offer a fresh, unbiased view of your product – and tell you how to make it even better.

Stage Two’s ethics inform our strategy, messaging and positioning work.

Stage Two does whatever it takes to help your product connect with users (oftentimes that is most about helping you understand who those users are). We routinely make tough decisions that launch consumer technologies. And we always put the best interests of the client first. We will recommend pushing back a launch date if the product isn’t ready to ship – even if our client has an internal target that conflicts with our timetable. Conversely, if a product is ready to go and months away from hitting stores, Stage Two will advise moving the go-to-market date up. We aren’t “yes men,” we’re the “get it done” team.

Our integrity also informs our relationships with the press.

Stage Two is a PR firm that actually understands technology and products – we do not regurgitate the speeds and feeds we’ve memorized. We know products, and we know the press – and we know them well.

If we write something online, we mean it. Hype is forgettable. It is noise. We don’t B.S. industry veterans or journalists. We don’t do “exclusives.” We never shill. If we blog about our clients, it’s because we like them, or the content makes sense, period. Media outlets approach Stage Two because they value our opinions. They value our knowledge and our forthrightness. We have personal and professional relationships with journalists in the tech space. Stage Two will never let a product supersede a relationship. We won’t pitch garbage. We won’t pitch announcements that aren’t really news. We won’t pitch something just because you want us to. We pitch to get results (even if we don’t always get the ones we want).

Stage Two’s reputation in the technology space is based on our integrity our ability to create and improve amazing products.

Finally, integrity informs Stage Two corporate values. What was that old phrase? “You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” It’s true. Our intention is always to find a fix to a tech problem, not tear down faulty tech with a barrage of complaints (unless it’s just so perilously bad that there is no solution other than to scrap it). Our goal in business is to inform and educate people about technology. And we always intend to improve technology and help share new experiences with others.

Client News: Pogoplug unveils Pogoplug Pro!

Today Pogoplug announced the third generation of it’s award-winning Pogoplug device, Pogoplug Pro. Pogoplug Pro adds one of the biggest customer requests, integrated wireless to the already lengthy list of features. Not only does Pro add built-in wireless, the color has changed from pink to black.

Pogoplug Pro is available starting today in Best Buy stores nationwide for $99.

The company announced the new product via their blog, which you can read here. Members of the press and blogger community have picked up the story; we’ll update the list below throughout the day.

• Engadget
• CrunchGear
• SlashGear
• The Gadgeteer

What the Sony/Google TV Remote Coulda Shoulda Been

Hello readers.  Look at this remote.  Now at your hands.  Now back to the remote.  Now back to your hands.

Maybe it’s a joke.  Maybe it’s a clever ruse.  Maybe it’s a prototype.  Maybe it’s clever CGI like they used for Gollum.  I have no idea.  But the picture here (sourced from Engadget) is supposedly the remote control shipping with Sony’s TVs that have Google TV integrated inside.  It is, in a word, a monstrosity (my friend MG said it best, “My God, it’s full of buttons!”).

Here are all the things wrong with it, in a nutshell:

• Big and ugly – the current era of product design is about sleekness, not low quality plastic.  Even the Xbox controller looks like it’s better made.
• Requires two hands to operate at all times - should be one, with the option to go to two when necessary.  You should never go full handed, always stay half handed.
• All keyboard buttons appear the same size - this thing has to be usable in the dark, which means physical cues are needed.  The “tab” button is where the “Q” should’ve been, so the user can anchor themselves around the keyboard without looking, every time.
• All control buttons appear the same size – volume and channel change are the same, as are all playback buttons.  Buttons which are used most frequently should be physically differentiated.
• Two identical joysticks – while I’ll go out on a limb and assume the extra joystick is actually useful/functional, it should be mildly different to the user’s touch.
• Too many buttons – just like notes, there is such a thing as too many buttons.  And this has too many.

Now, since it’s so easy to complain, I’ll take this a step further with the XX things I’d have done with this remote:

• Combo buttons + touchscreen – the 2nd gen Sonos controller is a simple version of a hybrid remote, I think this is a perfect time for it.  The physical buttons should control the basic navigation, especially playback controls, and volume.  The touchscreen could do the keyboard, advanced options, setup options, etc.  Even if it’d end up the same physical size as the one pictured here, it would be slicker and better received.
• Glowing buttons - for advanced products that are going to work in a dark room, back-lit, glowing, light-up, etc buttons are a must-have.
• Single handed operation – without a doubt I’d have the basic configuration work in a single hand, held in a traditional manner.  If the user has to tilt it to make the screen work, or some other kind of touchscreen is needed to make this happen, it’s worth it.
• High quality materials - this is supposed to be la creme de la creme of TV products.  Whether it’s a single piece of aluminium or carbon fiber or any other “really nice” materials, I’d spare no expense on the first generation remote.
• OR… dual remote + phone interfaces - first and foremost, I am *not* a fan of the vision that the smartphone makes a great remote control – it doesn’t.  BUT, if you could ship a really nice, simple, easy to use, high quality remote that offers 80-90% of the functionality, then let the user go to their phone for more advanced features when they want to, I’d call that a viable option.  Remember, you could do keyboard input with a 10-key, it’s worked on feature phones for years.

I’m still in the “shock and awe” phase of watching everything related to Google TV roll out the way it is.  Our post on “taste” applies quite a bit here, as I’ve yet to see an ounce of it related to these products, strategies, or efforts.  And I’m disappointed – this is exactly how we burn consumers on technology.  Too hard, not elegant, etc.